Fabulous Book

What's Math Got to Do with It?: Helping Children Learn to Love Their Least Favorite Subject - and Why it's Important For America by Jo Boaler

If you get a chance, this book is at the Corvallis Public Library, and it is fabulous. I think every parent of a public schooled, private schooled, charter schooled, or homeschooled child should read this book. I found it quite insightful with quality research. Jo lives in England, so much of her research is done in England, but she also was a professor at Stanford for a while, so did studies in the States too. She's also gone abroad to look at classrooms abroad. She has analyzed different classrooms with different teaching habits, and has done extensive surveys to teachers, but more importantly the students. And really gets to the heart of our where our society is going with math, and how we need to help it from going down the toilet.

She talks about worksheet math, which she agrees has a place, but math is so much more than just plug and chug. There is communication and problem solving, intrigue and richness, not fully comprehensible when you are only plugging and chugging. She discusses the importance of understanding math in the real world, and not just memorizing equations. And she discusses the dangers of track systems, and how group work with a variety of levels is beneficial to everyone.

Anyway, if you're a parent with some extra time (yeah right!), this really is a fabulous book. It's new, so it's a 14-day checkout still at our library.

Other than that, the 3 funny stories from last week are:

Ellie proud of her car she's been hiding in the boot!

1. Our family has been quite sick this past week... really can't remember a time that we've been down for so long! Todd, Ellie, and I so far are fine, though, and we are triple crossing our fingers we don't get sick :-) Anyway, Glenn woke up one morning, and I asked how he was feeling. He said, "Good!" with enthusiasm. I asked him how his nose was feeling. He took on BIG LONG Sniff, and replied, "It's still a little bit snuffy." I thought that was adorable.

The boys making a mock stained-glass solar system

2. Todd's been reading non-stop with James... trying to finish the 3rd Eragon book. Todd edits some of the gory stuff for James, but both are THOROUGHLY enjoying it. The other night I served chicken for dinner, and James politely told me he was done with dinner (he didn't touch his chicken). Well, if you know James, he is a bottomless pit. "What do you mean, you're done? Don't you want your chicken." "No," he tells me. "I don't want to eat meat anymore." I looked at him in utter shock... where on EARTH did this come from? With my mouth still open, I reply, "What??!! Why don't you want to eat meat anymore?" He replies, "Because I love animals." WHAT??!! I looked at Todd in utter disbelief. Todd gets an 'ah-ha' moment in his eyes and says to James, "Is it because Eragon is a vegetarian?" James shakes his head up and down. I almost put a stop to reading that book! :-) That night as I was explaining this to my friend who has loaned us the books, she assures me it's fine. Eragon comes to reality and eats meat again. Well, the boys have come to this point, and Eragon is eating meat again, but James still wouldn't eat his chicken last night...... books, I tell ya!

The complete solar system

3. While Todd has been reading the past few nights on the couch (till midnight one night! Little stinker :-)), Glenn was laying all over him the first night, and last night Alex starting crawling all over Todd. He announces, "Why must everyone climb all over me whenever my bladder is full!" James replies without hesitation, "Maybe it's because they think it's squishy." Todd and I laughed hard over that one, and told James, that was a good comeback!

Well, that's about it for us. I'm hoping today will be our first day back to normal in about a week, but we'll see. James still had a fever last night, and Alex is still coughing and not sleeping well... but I know it will end, and it's gotta be soon :-) Have a good one!